Thread: From the grinder to the hone?

Originally Posted by wynndow

Thank you,
........
Does this sound good? Or is there something I'm missing?

The only thing unsaid is that the spine is the guide for the angle.

I did not see evidence that you had been laying the razor flat on
both the edge and spine and then honing. A correctly honed razor will
have a clean bright almost polished surface on the spine to compliment
and guide the hone to perfect the edge itself. The spine touches the
hone first then the edge....

Many knife makers clamp a guide on knives to maintain the angle.
A razor has the guide built into the design (shape) of the razor.
For knives other tricks work as well to maintain an ideal angle.

Lastly pressure while honing. You have ground a beautiful thin
edge that will be flexible when honing. To get an ideal edge
you want minimum pressure while honing so the expected flex
is minimized and does not generate an edge that is too thin.

Some of the hone masters will apply quite a bit of pressure at 1k
and 4k to the point of making a table rock and roll. What the novice
does not see is the final light touch at the end of each grit that lets the razor spring
back to its natural angle for a very consistent precise honing angle.
This hard then soft touch is hard to do and takes years of practice so the generic
advice is to always hone with a light touch and just use more strokes as needed.

So take advantage of the spine. Hone the entire razor not just the edge
as you might on a knife.

Tape while honing can protect the spine from wear and adjust the
angle a little if needed. If you used tape -- well that explains why
I did not see the flat on the spine I expected.

Nice job ...

Originally Posted by 1holegrouper

I sure would love to work that blade! It looks to me like you have the beginning of a stellar razor. Did you oil quench this tool steel?

I did indeed use oil as it is O1, most of my knives I make I use stainless steels so this was kind of a nice step back to simplicity. Eventually if everything turns out right I would like to do testing on steels like 440C and 154CPM vs. high carbon for wear/how well they shave. But that's a long ways down the road.

Nifty- Thanks for the concern, but the main reason you don't see that evidence is because I have yet to take it to the stone. This is the main reason I made the thread, I wanted to be sure I'm not skipping a step and my thought process was in order. Also as I said I don't have the hones yet should be getting them later this week hopefully. Then we'll see how well I can reproduce all the video's and advice I've gotten.

So, in this case I think setting up your edge will be fairly straight forward and easy. Most of the challenges really are when dealing with vintage blades that have experienced all sorts of abuse. What you have is literally a clean slate to deal with. A very nice one at that.

Also consider getting a professionally honed razor as a benchmark to practise shaving so you know how your razor should feel when shaving

I've actually considered that, I peaked into the classifieds, but honestly I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions?

Thank you very much... checking it out as I type

Was really thinking about getting one of the starting kits... but they are all sold out lol.. on to plan B I suppose

I hope this is of some help.

I wish I had the funds for one of his blades!!!

Bevel Setting The Edge On A Newly Ground Razor - YouTube